IGNORE THE SIGNALS AND HEAD FOR DISASTER

Commemorating the 85th Birth Anniversary of Lalith Athulathmudali-november 26

Every year I have been writing articles to mark the birth and death anniversaries of the Late Mr. Athulathmudali to bring to the attention of the public as well as those in governance the skill and competency with which this great man handled any and every situation that was thrust upon him. My aim has always been to bring to the present citizens and rulers an idea of how best we can progress as a country. As years go by, many are of the view that presently around 60% of law makers are not qualified to be in the Parliament. Today the Parliament has become the laughing stock of the citizens. And I miss the pragmatic leader that I saw and met in Lalith Athulathmudali.

MISSING THE SIGNALS

From the beginning of the year 2021, so many have been speaking about seeing many signals of the country drifting away ; some were natural such as the Covid-19 and even the floods, but apparently to many, some were brought upon the country by short-sightedness of the decision makers. For example, the fertiliser issue has changed the country’s agriculture sector in a negative way. Assume that during HE R.premadasa’s time, If the President had wanted, that by the following year the country must move towards organic fertiliser and move completely away from chemical fertiliser, what would the then Agriculture Minister Mr Lalith Athulathmudali would have done? He would have immediately consulted experts on fertilizer and on agriculture and also would have met the farmer organizations ,because they are ones who will be directly affected. Finally he would have submitted a report to the President on the dialogue and consultations together with his final views .We never saw that course of action from the present Agriculture Minister ? The signs are clear. Many farmers appears to have abandoned their farming, some have been forced to do so. In the long run, we may have to import everything that grows in this country.

IS THERE SUPPRESSION ?

For the last one year or so, it appears to many that the Government is finding it difficult to maintain its popularity . Justice for the Easter Sunday attacks victims is yet to be served. And in the rush we see a well-respected member of the church clergy being questioned for days and days . This makes not only Christians and Catholics but also the rest of the communities disappointed. HE the President or the PM should intervene .

The Police which is being paid by the public to protect the public , appears to many as being seen as harassing them even more . People’s ‘’right to protest ‘’ and the public officials “right to express an opinion” is being curbed.to many it seems that the Government is indeed walking a thin line. It vividly demonstrates that a lot of what is going on is wrong and the Government does not want to hear about it.

What the people in authority do not seem to understand is that a government should not bring in laws to supress the people. Laws should be in place to protect the people from injustice. If the law makers do not understand this then the country should be very worried.

REMOVALS AND RESIGNATIONS

The public have also noticed, that certain persons have been removed from public office for expressing their opinions , while some have moved out due to clashes with the relevant minister. If the aim is to create a cadre of ‘ yes- men’ ( and women), then the future for this country is going to be very bleak. More and more professionals will leave the country. Right now, the young generation is queuing up to leave for overseas , what plans do we have to dissuade them ?

OIL REFINERY

The sudden shutting down of the oil refinery came as a huge surprise and created havoc among the city dwellers. There are many unanswered questions in this matter. Is the plan to bring refined oil from overseas ? and at what cost? At a time when we hear that there is so much corruption in foreign deals, the public is naturally worried about what is in store for them.

DEARTH OF US DOLLARS

One of the critical issues of today is the ‘sudden’ dearth of foreign exchange. Did the Central Bank warn the government prior to this issue? Was there a study done on this when it was emerging? Essentially the Central Bank should have foreseen this years ahead ? and did they then , take preventive measures ? Even at this moment in time the country is unaware of the plan to come out of this situation. Not only the Government but it is making all state and private sector institutions inefficient and ineffective . The only visible solution is to go before the IMF . This means establishment of Good Governance principles and much needed systems of administration . Rulers who love this country SHOULD go before the IMF.

What the people in authority do not seem to understand is that a government should not bring in laws to supress the people. Laws should be in place to protect the people from injustice

VALUING THE STATE SECTOR

Recently a key minister said that the state sector is a burden on the economy. This sent shockwaves across present and former government servants. The state sector is the backbone of the administration of this country. While increasing the retirement age to 65, making such a statement is indeed a contradiction. Mr. Althulathmudali for one had great faith in the state sector and always consulted the government officials on matters pertaining to policy and implementation. In fact, when he was injured in the parliament bomb, he was determined to be treated in Sri Lanka. He did not run overseas for treatment.

The whole purpose of governance is to read the signals and take timely action. These are few of the signs that the Government must notice and take corrective action. Missing these signals would be like ignoring the icebergs by the Titanic.